Melbourne readies to exit world’s longest COVID-19 lockdown – The Peninsula Qatar

Melbourne readies to exit world’s longest COVID-19 lockdown – The Peninsula Qatar

A woman wearing a protective face mask walks along a deserted city bridge during a lockdown as the state of Victoria looks to curb the spread of a COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, July 16, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders//File Photo/File Photo

SYDNEY: Millions in Melbourne are readying to come out of the world's longest COVID-19 lockdown later on Thursday even as cases hover near record levels, with restaurants and cafes rushing to restock supplies before opening their doors.

Since early August, residents in Australia's second-largest city have been in lockdown - their sixth during the pandemic - to quell an outbreak fuelled by the highly infectious Delta strain.